West of Heaven’s Erin Moore's sound advice

Tools

The daughter of Irish singer-songwriter Thom Moore, Erin Moore recalls being surrounded by musical genius since infancy. “I was routinely being placed slightly offstage, in a guitar case, while my parents performed at L.A.’s McCabe’s and the Troubadour,” says the musician, whose credits range from co-founding local ‘90s band Random Spex to writing and singing in the ongoing project West of Heaven, as well as the occasional tribute band. We checked in with her recently for a rundown of favorite recordings.

First record I bought with my own money: Growing up, I had access to so much music that I didn’t feel the need to buy any myself, until my mother moved away and took her vinyls with her. The first album of hers that I replaced was David Bowie’s Changes compilation, because I had to have some music by the hero of weirdos. The first vinyl recording I bought on my own was Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights.” I was just astonished by her creativity in music and movement.

Essential Saturday night listening: Saturday nights at home are often spent falling into a rabbit hole that leads to alt-rock and post-punk bands like The Cure. On a really good Saturday night, though, I think it’s essential to be out and about and taking in some of the offerings by Colorado Springs’ wonderful and seemingly bottomless local talent.

Essential Sunday morning listening: I recently discovered the now 5-year-old soundtrack to Beautiful Creatures by thenewno2. The group was founded in the mid-2000s by Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, and its music is gorgeously magical and often complex. Their songs run the gamut of emotion, with some variance in genre, while still remaining wonderfully cohesive.

Album more people should know about: It almost makes me weep to contemplate all the undiscovered and underappreciated artists who will remain so because of society’s fast-food approach to music. I’d recommend spending some time exploring world music to expand the mind, and Passion – Sources is a good place to start. It’s a fine collection of the original world music tracks that Peter Gabriel drew upon to compose the beautiful soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ.

Guilty pleasure: I don’t feel guilty at all, just embarrassed by my transparency! I adore quote-unquote pretty music. My oldest son, Owen, has the ability to easily write a song that I will fall in love with, because he is familiar with songs and chord progressions that lure me in. I also love the juxtaposition of pretty music with dissonance and heaviness in bands like Faith No More, Hüsker Dü, Alice in Chains and Tool.